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Man arrested after crowd pursues MP down street

Henry DurandLocal Democracy reporter
News imageFacebook A woman holds her phone while videoing a man and a woman walking along the street, in a blurry screenshot from mobile phone footage.Facebook
The group could be heard shouting at Terry Jermy in the footage

An MP has said he was subjected to "bullying, harassment and intimidation" after a group of about 30 people pursued him down the street over government plans to house asylum seekers at a military site.

Police are investigating the confrontation which happened after South West Norfolk Labour MP Terry Jermy left a Thetford Town Council meeting on 18 June.

Footage of the incident showed a group following the MP for about five minutes, demanding that he responded to questions about government plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Barnham, just over the county border in Suffolk.

Norfolk Police said it was looking at three reports of alleged harassment and a man had been arrested.

News imageShaun Whitmore/BBC A head and shoulders shot of Terry Jermy, who has short light brown hair and a short beard. He is wearing a mid-blue tweedy jacket over a red, blue and white tartan shirt. He is standing in a building.Shaun Whitmore/BBC
Terry Jermy said such a confrontation "attacks the very foundations of our democracy"

Demonstrators had been gathering outside Thetford's Guildhall before the meeting, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

At least 20 of them also went into the council chamber, hoping to ask questions of about plans for the site.

They were told that because it was an extraordinary meeting, called to sign off the council's end-of-year audit, there was no public question time.

Jermy, who is also a town councillor, left the meeting and a group gathered around him.

He was followed for about 400 metres (1,300ft) through the town centre, accompanied by a female member of staff and Terry Land, a Labour councillor.

The encounter was filmed by the demonstrators, as well as by Land.

In the group's footage, Jermy is shouted at and called "disgraceful", a "loser" and repeatedly asked "do you understand?".

He was followed to his parked car and then he circled back to his constituency office.

RAF Barnham, or Barnham Camp, is a storage facility rather than an airfield, and it has been used as accommodation for military personnel.

It is in the constituency of Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, rather than in Jermy's Norfolk constituency.

He has "strongly objected" to the proposal after the government confirmed last week that Barnham was one of the sites it hoped to use to house asylum seekers, as it sought to move migrants out of hotels.

News imageFacebook A man and a woman walk next to a brick building while being followed by a man wearing a shirt that says "Fork the System".Facebook
Terry Jermy was followed for about five minutes by a group of people after he left a Thetford Town Council meeting

Jermy said he was "a highly accessible member of Parliament", but would not "tolerate behaviour that I believe goes beyond political discourse and will not respond to people who abuse myself or my staff team".

"I will call out this behaviour for what I believe it is — bullying, harassment and intimidation — and, regardless of any political differences, we should all commit to combatting this behaviour which attacks the very foundations of our democracy," he said.

News imageMartin Giles/BBC A sign says: "WARNING: MOD PROPERTY KEEP OUT." It is white, with red and black printing and is hung on a metal gate.Martin Giles/BBC
The MoD site at Barnham could become home to asylum seekers under new government plans

A man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of two counts of harassment and a public order offence, Norfolk Police said.

He has been questioned, and bailed by police until 4 September.

News imageMartin Giles/BBC A village sign for Barnham is placed on a metal post on a small area of grass. There is a bench nearby.Martin Giles/BBC
Residents say the village, on the A134, has few facilities to accommodate any asylum seekers that could be housed at the RAF station

A Thetford Town Council spokesperson said it respected "the right of individuals to peacefully protest", but was "concerned by the conduct of several" after the meeting.

It submitted a formal complaint to Norfolk Police over the handling of the incident and requested a review, including an assessment of the risks before and during the meeting.

'Secrecy and confusion'

Alex Norris spoke during an hour-long Commons session, which included an Asylum Accommodation and Asylum Hotels Statement

Jermy, speaking in the Commons on Monday, criticised what he described as "secrecy and confusion" surrounding the proposals for RAF Barnham.

"While such news will never be welcomed by a community, the worst could be mitigated with a stronger commitment to transparency, engagement and reassurance," he said.

Responding, Alex Norris, the Home Office's Border Security and Asylum Minister, said: "The impact of our proposals are significant on those local communities and I do recognise that that's important."

Earlier in the debate, he told MPs: "No final decision will be taken on any site until in each case all necessary arrangements, assessments and approvals are in place and have been properly considered."

Barnham is in the Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket constituency of Jermy's fellow Labour MP, Dr Peter Prinsley.

He asked the minister how the "views of local people will be taken into account" following protests at the weekend outside RAF Barnham.

The minister said the positives of using the site outweighed the negatives.

An emergency meeting will be held on Wednesday by West Suffolk Council to discuss the plans.

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